A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one big thing. Be more like a hedgehogUnthinkable: Three steps for decluttering your mindMon Feb 24 2025 - 06:00
JD Vance is right about this: Liberals and conservatives do not love the same wayUnthinkable: Ireland should talk more about Jesus – and I say that as an atheistMon Feb 10 2025 - 06:00
No one is asking Meta to act as God - just not to pollute the public space with liesUnthinkable: Meta’s stance on fact-checking resembles a philosophical position known as ‘epistemological anarchy’Mon Feb 03 2025 - 06:00
Squid Game or Sweden? The choice Ireland faces as Donald Trump takes office Unthinkable: Irish economic policy was once framed as ‘Boston or Berlin’ – our options today are much starkerMon Jan 20 2025 - 06:00
When it comes to clutter are you more like Michael D Higgins or minimalist Marie Kondo?Unthinkable: Preserving only that which is joyful is philosophically problematicMon Jan 13 2025 - 06:00
Smartphones are an easy scapegoat for a more profound unhappinessChildren are led to believe ‘that their worth is tied to proving that they are exceptional’Mon Jan 06 2025 - 06:00
Lessons in philosophy from Sally Rooney’s latest novel that can help us make sense of the worldUnthinkable: The ideas of Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein on language and reality surface in Intermezzo, and the relationship between the two philosophers mirrors that of Rooney’s two principal characters, brothers Peter and IvanMon Dec 30 2024 - 07:10
‘On the ninth day of Christmas, Nietzsche said with glee: sever links with your family’ Unthinkable: For the seasan that’s in it, we’ve gone for a philosophical Christmas carolMon Dec 23 2024 - 06:00
Find your ‘inner mystic’: Is this the answer to modern melancholy?Unthinkable: English philosopher and author Simon Critchley suggests we can learn to enjoy ‘idiot glee’ from medieval ChristianityMon Dec 16 2024 - 06:00
This column is not for cynics: In praise of political innocenceUnthinkable: Was the general election a victory for ‘grown ups’ or a defeat for idealism?Mon Dec 09 2024 - 06:00
‘It’s cool’ isn’t a good reason for scientists to develop harmful technologies Unthinkable: Regulating generative AI is important in its own right, but it’s also a dummy run for the existential threat of artificial general intelligence. This will go beyond mimicking human intelligence to conquering itMon Dec 02 2024 - 05:45
Mary Lou’s eyeroll and the ‘Simon stare’: The body language in TV leaders’ debateA behavioural psychologist analyses what was said without words in Tuesday night’s showdownWed Nov 27 2024 - 19:05
A philosophical guide to voting: Three big issues to think aboutUnthinkable: In the case of voting, the critical question is not the “mom litmus test” but the “child, or future citizen, litmus test”Mon Nov 25 2024 - 05:00
We are united by common urges: Freedom. Justice. The need to go to the toiletUnthinkable: Looking for the meaning of life? You may be sitting on the answerMon Nov 18 2024 - 06:00
Enoch Burke is someone I’d like to hugUnthinkable: Ahead of International Men’s Day, it’s clear many young men are not in a happy placeMon Nov 11 2024 - 06:00
Should it bother you if you’re not as rich as your neighbour? Five arguments can be put forward in defence of economic inequalityMon Oct 21 2024 - 06:00
‘God doesn’t make mistakes. If I was trans, it was because I was meant to be’Unthinkable: Philosopher and author Sophie Grace Chappell believes ideology is the wrong starting point for public discussionMon Oct 14 2024 - 06:00
Some people believe animals should have political representation. But which animals?Unthinkable: Should pigs have a voice but not ants? Should XL Bully dogs have a voice on whether or not they should be banned?Mon Oct 07 2024 - 06:00
Why ‘they’re eating the dogs’ was a stroke of political genius by TrumpUnthinkable: Politicians who tell lies have an advantage because of what psychologists call the ‘false consensus effect’Mon Sept 30 2024 - 06:00
I enjoy going to Mass occasionally, an embarrassing admission for an atheistPraying can allow people to vocalise suppressed emotions or fears, and several studies indicate health benefitsMon Sept 23 2024 - 06:00
In times of war, ‘we have a duty to hope, as without hope all is lost’Unthinkable: Always treat humanity not as a means but as an end, said the philosopher Immanuel KantMon Sept 16 2024 - 05:00
Why is ‘news avoidance’ on the rise? The nocebo effect may be playing a partUnthinkable: The ‘evil twin’ of the placebo effect could shed light on why people say consuming the news makes them feel worseMon Sept 09 2024 - 06:00
If you’re already planning your next holiday, read this firstUnthinkable: ‘Leisure’ has replaced ‘rest’ in our capitalist society. Even burnout is being monetisedMon Sept 02 2024 - 06:00
Gary Lineker’s ‘bald patch’ jibe hurt Frank Lampard - luckily, there is one treatment for hair lossUnthinkable: Here’s a three-step programme to deal with cruel comments about your appearanceMon Jun 24 2024 - 06:00
Tommy Tiernan is on a mission to revive ‘radical’ Christian Irish philosopherKerry writer John Moriarty, who died in 2007, called for ‘the abandonment of the western way of life’Mon Jun 17 2024 - 06:00
If you could meet your dead parent again through virtual reality would you?Unthinkable: Technology is throwing up new moral dilemmas - “screen studies” may help us to answer themMon Jun 10 2024 - 06:00
The Irish philosopher who was father of ‘cathedral thinking’Edmund Burke is associated with conservatism but his political outlook is more radical than he is given credit forMon Jun 03 2024 - 06:00
Are you a citizen of the world or of your own nation? The answer may determine your politicsThere are 193 nation states in the world, with Palestine waiting to become the 194thMon May 27 2024 - 06:00
The psychology of election posters: to smile, frown or go full Mick Wallace?Experts in behavioral psychology examine a selection of posters from the campaign trail to reveal hidden meaningsSun May 26 2024 - 06:00
Are we making ourselves anxious, or is the world making us that way?Unthinkable: Karl Marx and Herbert Marcuse could help treat your anxietyMon May 20 2024 - 06:00
Are we over-using terms like ‘far-right’, ‘racist’ and ‘fascist’?Concerns are being raised about ‘conceptual inflation’ whereby ‘use of a term expands too much relative to its meaning’Mon May 13 2024 - 06:05
Should you have children? These five philosophical questions can help you decideUnthinkable: Procreating to ‘save the West’ is probably a bad idea, but what’s a good reason to have children?Mon May 06 2024 - 06:00
‘No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs’: How common were such notices in Britain?Unthinkable: The only known photograph of such a sign is from an unknown sourceMon Apr 29 2024 - 05:00
Politics is all about managing the present. What people need is a story of the futureUnthinkable: Individuals and society at large need a coherent storyline to give us hope for the futureMon Apr 22 2024 - 06:00
How to end the culture wars: Stop looking for people to blame‘Because structural injustices are beyond our control it is wrong to blame ordinary people for them,’ argues political philosopher Maeve McKeownMon Apr 15 2024 - 06:00
A question for Willie O’Dea and Sharon Keogan: What exactly do you mean by ‘woke’?Unthinkable: It’s worth learning to spot linguistic devices to avoid plain speech, which can have real impacts on Irish societyMon Mar 18 2024 - 06:00
Navalny’s death shames those of us who merely ‘fornicate and read the papers’Unthinkable: Killing of the Russian opposition leader shames all of us who merely ‘fornicate and read the papers’Mon Mar 11 2024 - 06:00
Are you being played by Netflix? Why tech giants do not want us to be nostalgicUnthinkable: Powerful organisations may be trying to ‘suppress emotions that threaten capitalism’Mon Mar 04 2024 - 06:00
Would you kill one person to save five? It depends what age you areUnthinkable: Changing morals may explain differences between age groups on the Israel-Palestine conflictMon Feb 26 2024 - 06:00
What a Tesla driver in a VR headset can teach us about empathyWe can’t be sure technology is making people less empathetic, but the signs are not goodMon Feb 19 2024 - 05:00
Love is . . . ‘the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real’Unthinkable: Philosopher Iris Murdoch provides us with a model of love that is both highly demanding and devilishly complexMon Feb 12 2024 - 06:00
Who do you trust to advise you on changes to the Constitution?Unthinkable: No idea? Don't worry. There's a toolkit for thatMon Feb 05 2024 - 05:00
Don’t take this the wrong way: Five things you need to know about giving adviceA philosopher and a psychologist on how to know whether you’re being helpful or just interferingMon Jan 29 2024 - 06:00
Some things can’t be sold, but is Páirc Uí Chaoimh one of them?Unthinkable: If SuperValu Páirc is not to your taste, what about Supermac’s University of Galway?Mon Jan 22 2024 - 06:00
The Good Enough Life: praise for an Irish town that finds meaning in family, sport and dogs Skerries, anonymised as Cuan, comes pretty close to meeting Aristotle’s ideal of ‘flourishing’, according to the authorSat Jan 20 2024 - 00:00
Do you really deserve the great job you have? … Or is meritocracy just a modern version of aristocracy?Mon Jan 15 2024 - 06:00
Manifesting is the perfect religion for our times. But does it work?Unthinkable: Humans are loath to admit that sh*t happens – this may lie behind a multi-billion euro industryMon Jan 08 2024 - 06:00
Here’s the secret to happiness in 2024, according to a dead Greek philosopher: don’t get noticedUnthinkable: Seeking happiness in 2024? Epicurus has the answer for youMon Jan 01 2024 - 06:00
This cage-fighting philosopher has an important message for young menUnthinkable: The good life is not a saccharine, Christmas Day joyful experience. It’s the well-balanced life, lived with rationality and virtue, argues lecturer and MMA fighter Gaven KerrTue Dec 26 2023 - 06:45
EU law on harmful speech could make Ireland’s hate offences Bill obsoleteUnthinkable: Pushing ahead with the hate offences Bill may be a bad strategy, even if criticism of the initiative has been ‘completely misguided’Mon Dec 18 2023 - 06:00
